CONNECTING PEOPLE

Welcome - This blog was created to discuss the common questions and topics concerning the start-up and ongoing operations ofA Brush with Kindness and Age in Place

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Why ABWK? Why Not!

I talked with a staff member at HFHI the other day. He told me that over 400 affiliates have signed up to start A Brush with Kindness in their communities. Yet, with most affiliates still on the sidelines the question begs to be asked... Why wouldn't an affiliate start ABWK in their community?

Part of the current Habitat mission of building communities includes creating and preserving homeownership. We are losing more affordable homes in most of our communities than are being built. As the population in our country ages so does the housing stock.

A Brush with Kindness will allow affiliates to serve more families and therefore have a bigger community impact. It will also create better health, safety and independent living for seniors and families.

The program is also extremely cost effective. With paint being donated by Valspar, and with the high visual impact a fresh coat of paint makes (after some prep and minor repairs no doubt) your affiliate should be able to ramp to an impact scale in a relatively short time. There is such an incredible upside to starting A Brush with Kindness. It will allow you to impact more families, utilize more volunteers, raise more money and raise your affiliates profile all on a shoestring budget ('til you get the program established). These $500 projects or less depending on the scope and current resources, will help you ramp to scale and get noticed quicker, which will help you gain the resources to do bigger projects.

A Brush with Kindness will help build more relationships with agencies, municipalities, churches and businesses in your community. It will raise the profile and value of Habitat in your community. It will help initiate more conversations and influence more people around your mission that will eventually lead to building more homes.

And the downside to starting A Brush with Kindness is?

I would love to hear your feedback. It helps us all when we can wrestle with the reasons why it can't or shouldn't be done at an affiliate. Thanks and all the best as you consider the best ways to serve families and your community around affordable housing!

ABWK in the Twin Cities, MN

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Messages That Matter

It is important to find messages that comunicate the essence of your new program. The public will pick up on those messages that connect with their values. We have used "Ever have a brush with kindness?" and "Connecting people... Restoring homes" as well as key quotes and scripture that resonate with our constituents. Check out the slide show below to see quotes that have inspired our messaging.

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About Me

I founded A Brush with Kindness 20 years ago. With tremendous support from the Valspar corporation, we created a program that helped preserve homeownership throughout the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area so that families could continue to live in a safe, healthy home. I have helped to start over 100 programs throughout the US and in several countries as a consultant with HFHI. I currently direct the Age in Place program at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. Locally, A Brush with Kindness serves about 80 families each year. Feel free to contact me for more information at plund@abwk.net.